Although London boasts an array of Burlesque nights the finest burlesque in the south is found on the coast. And one in particular has a vibrancy any London promoter would sell their blackberry to bottle. Club Smooch.
This relatively new burlesque night first established itself on the burly scene in November of last year when it's promoter (Miss Baby Bones) decided she wanted to throw a burly event for the charity Oxfam.
Since then the success of Smooch and the demand from the general public has given Smooch room to grow.
Brighton's night life is one of the most liberal and varied in England. In fact Miss Bones' affiliated troupe Vavavavoom! was one of the first, if not the first, Neo Burlesque club nights in the country established by Stella Starr in 1997.
Vavavavoom! hold regular nights at the Komedia in Brighton but the troupe can be found wherever else the sea breeze blows them! Most noticeably this years London Burlesque Festival (April 2008). The next Smooch taking place is on May the 4th (and 5th and 24th) at the Komedia.
Smooch boasted international burlesque talent as well as home grown. The audience were incredibly responsive and well dressed for the night with fascinators and feathers galore. The males in the audience were dashing and dapper.
With two bars to the general public's disposal it was smiles and laughter before curtain up and goodwill resonated from every table.
Venuss Envy © Russell Bell
The line up was a bevy of burly beauties all polished and preened to perfection.
Honey Moon © Russell Bell
Venus Envy provided razzle dazzle to the proceedings with her take on Broadway. Miss Pink added a touch of classical theatre with her pointe routine and played the purrrfect pussy with her cat tease. Pandora Fox popped her burly cherry in style with a salute to the educational system. Jacob Lewis encapsulated the spirit of Johnny Cash and wooed the ladies. Miss Honey Moon performed her beautiful fan dance as well as 'whipping' the audience into a frenzy. Even lady luck made an appearance on stage as Miss Baby Bones wowed the crowd with her signature fluffy dice and card trick. 'The Lady of the Night' though has to go to Miss Dolly Rocket. Her off the cuff style of compering along with her dry wit and general rapport with the audience ran seamlessly through the evening till sadly it came to a close.
Dolly Rocket
When coming out of the club, you're hit by the crisp sea air and the lingering smell of fish and chips. The taxi rank is situated on the corner, or you could just take a stroll along the pier and wait in anticipation for your next SMOOCH.
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